Tuesday, 29 December 2015

Lady Pit. A Local Coal Mine

Lady
Pit, one of our local collieries closed in 1903. It was operated by the Beard
and Bugsworth Colliery Companyand was
one of several mines owned byL & E
Hall. This mine, also known as Beard Colliery was opened in 1816 – 1818 and was
the largest in the vicinity of Furness Vale.There were numerous shafts: Air Pit; Chain Pit; Furnace Pit, Lady Pit;
Blind Pit, Deans Piece Pit and Bullbower Pit.

A
feature of the mine was the Jowhole Tunnel which was dug in 1853. This ran in a
straight, almost westerly direction to a yard off of Marsh Lane near Gow Hole
Farm. Here was a wharf where coal could be loaded by tipplers on to road
vehicles. A horse drawn tramway ran through the tunnel and this opened into a
number of sidings at Gow Hole. The site is now Nick Rowleys Yard.

The
opening of the railway between Sheffield and Manchester allowed high quality,
inexpensive coal to be transported across the Pennines and our local mines
could not stand up to the competition.

Lady
Pit was sited at the point where Dolly Lane meets Lady Pit Road. The buildings
have been demolished and the land restored to farming.The colliery was served by a short railway
line which extended from Gowhole sidings, crossing the field on a low embankment
which may still be seen in the photograph below.

The above is an extract from a photograph in the Society
archives. Zooming in, we see the railway in the foreground and beyond that, the
buildings of the colliery. Beyond is Beardwood Farm.The chimney remained until 1947 when it was destroyed by a
lightning strike. the masonry was scattered over a radius of 100 yards.

The pit head at the mine

Some ruins were still to be seen in 1960. Marsh Lane is
seen in the foreground and Lady Pit Road heads towards the railway bridge. The
pylons of the electricity station are beyond the railway.

Still in situ is this large circular structure seen here
in 1965. This encloses a shaft which was originally known as Furnace Pit and
was later used as an air shaft.

Underground roadways link to the Barn or Dolly Pit which
closed in 1889. The engine house for this mine still stands and has been
converted into a house. Both Lady Pit and Dolly Pit supplied coal for the lime
kilns at Bugsworth. Another small mine Old Dolly Pit was situated by Clough
Head Farm. This had been worked from some time prior to 1800 and in 1799 the Clough Head Tramway was constructed to carry coal down to the kilns, a branch to Dolly Pit
was added about 1850.

About The Society

We research and record Furness Vale's past. An archive of documents, maps and photographs is maintained by Chairman George Tomlinson, a product of many years research. We hold meetings on the first Tuesday of each month except July and August. A guest speaker usually presents an illustrated talk of local or regional interest. Membership is available at an annual fee of £5.
For further information contact David Easton 01663 744080 furnesshistory@gmail.com